Arizona Cardinals 2025 Profile

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Jonathan Gannon
Offensive Coordinator: Drew Petzing
Defensive Coordinator: Nick Rallis
Special Teams Coordinator: Jeff Rodgers

2024 Summary (W-L Record: 8-9)

The Cardinals dabbled with a division title and then a playoff appearance for most of the 2024 season. They started 6-4, were in first place, and appeared to be ascending after 4 straight wins.

But then they lost 5 of their final 7 games and ended up on the outside looking in:

Along the way, the Cardinals were a team that no opponent could have been too excited to play. They were dangerous on both sides of the ball, capable of embarrassing anyone.

Their running game, with the combination of Kyler Murray and James Conner, was too tough to defend at times. It was a versatile rushing attack, leaning heavily on gap-scheme runs while also having the ability to attack the outside and put defenses into conflict with the QB-run game.

It didn’t matter if the defense was geared up to stop their rushing attack, the Cardinals could still beat them. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, they ran the ball against stacked boxes (8 or more defenders) at the 7th-highest rate in the league. That didn’t stop them from being able to pick up yards consistently (2nd in yards per attempt, 4th in % of runs gaining 4+ yards) and in big chunks (4th in runs of 10+ yards). They were among the league leaders in yards before and after contact, winning both in the trenches and in the open field.

The passing game, however, is where they saw less consistency. And that was a major contributor to their uneven results down the stretch.

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On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals had the scheme to hang with just about any team. Jonathan Gannon’s defense is one of the most fun to watch. He was a league-leader in disguise (4th) and use of sim pressures (5th) last season according to

Cody Alexander

of MatchQuarters. That kept opponents off-balance. He also used some unique pre-snap alignments that contributed to the defense’s success.

Ultimately, however, scheme only takes you so far. There are situations and games where it comes down to players being able to beat the guy across from them. And last year, the Cardinals just didn’t have the dogs to do so consistently.

Key Additions

DT Calais Campbell
DT Dalvin Tomlinson
DT Walter Nolen (1st Rd, 16th Overall)
EDGE Josh Sweat
EDGE Jordan Burch (3rd Rd, 78th Overall)
LB Akeem Davis-Gaither
LB Cody Simon (4th Rd, 115th Overall)
CB Will Johnson (2nd Rd, 47th Overall)
CB Jaylon Jones
CB Denzel Burke (5th Rd, 174th Overall)

Key Losses

G Trystan Colon-Castillo

DT Roy Lopez
DT Naquan Jones
DT Khiris Tonga
EDGE Julian Okwara
LB Kyzir White

Did They Address Their Holes?

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort seems more than comfortable with the state of the offense. In fact, he didn’t add one projected starter on this side of the ball through free agency or the draft.

Instead, he used all of Arizona’s team-building capital on the defense. He was particularly focused on the front-7, which will look much different this season. The Cardinals added Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Josh Sweat to the defensive line, each of whom are huge upgrades. They also added Akeem Davis-Gaither at linebacker.

In the draft, their first 5 picks were all on the defensive side of the ball as well. They took interior D-lineman Walter Nolen with the 16th overall pick (who unfortunately seems like he’ll miss some time early in the season due to a calf injury). They also took cornerback Will Johnson in the second round and edge rusher Jordan Burch in the third.

Add in their first round pick from 2024, D-lineman Darius Robinson, who missed most of last season, and you’ve got a brand-spanking new defense.

I love this way of building a team by the way. Build up one side of the ball to create an identity, and then drown the other side of the ball with all of your resources so they can quickly catch up.

Biggest Questions Entering 2025

Can Kyler Murray put it together for an entire season? This is the biggest question for this team, and it’s really been the question of Murray’s career as well.

One week he’ll be lights out and look like he should be in consideration for league MVP. The next, he’ll make you wonder if the Cardinals should move in another direction at the position.

He’s always capable of making big plays and often can save otherwise poor performances with a few game-changing throws or runs.

He’s capable of going through longer stretches where he plays really well and looks like he’s ready to turn a corner. But those stretches always seem to be followed by prolonged downturns.

Last season, for instance, he completed nearly 70% of his passes, had a 12-3 TD-INT ratio, and played to a 100.8 passer rating through the first 10 games. The Cardinals went 6-4 during that stretch.

Over his final 7 games, however, he played to just an 85.9 passer rating and a 9-8 TD-INT ratio. The Cardinals lost 5 of those 7 games and missed the playoffs as a result.

Will the real Kyler Murray please stand up in 2025?

One other area of concern for the Cardinals is at cornerback. Starling Thomas and Sean Murphy-Bunting, who played 75% and 66% of snaps last year, are both done for the season. That means Arizona will have lots of young players at the position this year.

3rd-year cornerback Garrett Williams, who had a great 2024 season, is at the top of the depth chart. But he’s followed by Max Melton (2nd-year player, 3 career starts), rookie 2nd-rounder Will Johnson and rookie 5th-rounder Denzel Burke.

How quickly can they master Gannon’s complex scheme? It will be something to watch.

2025 Outlook

The Cardinals are a great candidate to be the surprise team of the NFL in 2025.

The offense should have even more continuity in their third year in Drew Petzing’s system, especially with all of their starters from last season returning. There’s no reason why they can’t be a top-10 or even top-5 offense.

Jonathan Gannon’s defense, and particularly his scheme, has been impressive. Their influx of talent at all 3 levels could finally take it to new heights this year.

Yes, they’re in a tough division, but it’s not inconceivable that they could finish at the top. Just consider that the Rams suddenly have major questions due to Matthew Stafford’s back injury, the 49ers have a lot of new faces and unknowns, and the Seahawks are a little unpredictable at the moment with a new quarterback.

At very least, they should have the expectation of making the playoffs this season with anything less being a failure.

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